NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Danny Boy > Vatican recalls Papal Nuncio to Ireland -- PR suicide 101

Danny Boy by Daniel O'Carroll

Vatican recalls Papal Nuncio to Ireland -- PR suicide 101

Posted on Monday, July 25, 2011 at 10:48 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

12 Comments

RSS

Archives

The shocking decision from the Vatican to recall its accredited diplomatic representative to Ireland, 'Papal Nuncio' Giuseppe Lenza, is a decision which will only worsen the impact of the recent Cloyne Report fallout for the already badly damaged institution, and tarnish further their already sullied reputation in the eyes of its faithful.

The Vatican has now chosen to shun any possible opportunity to enter into dialogue over the serious allegations contained in the document, which were numerous, serious, and shocking, and shown that it prefers the sort of 'elitism' that Enda Kenny hit out at in the Dail -- now only available, apparently, in the sheltered haven of Rome -- to functioning like a normal sovereign authority and entering into bilateral discussions and owning up to what it did wrong.

The fact that the Vatican's withdrawal of its diplomat springs directly as a result of Kenny's milestone speech criticising it in the Dail - lauded from all corners and hailed as one of the greatest and most significant speeches in the history of the Irish state - is also childish in the extreme.

Ireland, like any other democracy, has been vocally critical of the conduct of many nations with diplomatic missions here throughout the State's existence (Israel, Libya, Lebanon, to name just a few), yet none of these countries have seen fit to recall their ambassador back in a huff as the Vatican did. Ireland's constitution makes a commitment to maintaining 'concord' between the nations, yet this is a priority clearly not held in the same esteem by the Church's puppet-masters in Rome.

Recent media reports recount how the Papal Nuncio - himself a career diplomat with the Vatican, having served in various roles since 1972 - appeared flustered and hassled after leaving a meeting at Iveagh House, the headquarters of Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, following a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Eamonn Gilmore.

If Gilmore gave him a good dressing down, then it's certainly the least he deserved: the Vatican was uncovered to have made serious and deliberate attempts to impede investigations into child sexual abuse in the Irish church, and instruct domestic clerics to do likewise. Perhaps an apology would have been more in order than tendering a resignation.

Most notably, though, this marks the stage where we can definitely say that there is a serious cooling of relations emerging between Ireland and the Church. The New York Times in an article published this morning, described it as a 'deepening standoff'; perhaps an irreparable rift will come to be a more apt description as the crisis plays out.

More than anything, though, you'd wonder why the surprisingly media-savvy Vatican chose this most amateur and draconian course of action as its way of handling a serious assault on its reputation in Ireland.

It's certainly the last thing that will help bring about any sort of reconciliation between the Church and its justifiably disillusioned adherents and may well mark the dawn of a terminal break-up between the two.

And if that does happen, then given today's reaction from the Vatican you'd be hard-pressed not to sympathize with them.

Clarification: contrary to what was stated above, indications are currently that the Nuncio's recall is for the purpose of engaging in 'consultations' on the matter with the Pope, rather than a permanent withdrawal. Articles published following the posting of this blog also quote sources from within the Department of Foreign Affairs as indicating that the move is not now being viewed as hostile, as it may initially have seemed to be.

E-mail

12 Comments

See all comments

Bernadett | Jul 28, 2011, 09:48 AM EDT

Well said ENDA lets hope its the first of many.

Report abuse

themurphia | Jul 27, 2011, 05:59 PM EDT

abhainn:How very dare you speak to pretty/danny boy like that...!:-7

Report abuse

kerryman201 | Jul 27, 2011, 01:49 PM EDT

Great news

Report abuse

PhoenixZouave | Jul 27, 2011, 01:07 PM EDT

Tome for Eire to break away from the Vatican. Erie has been the Vatican's patsy for years.

Report abuse

tombegs | Jul 27, 2011, 02:14 AM EDT

As an American whose parents were born in Kerry, I can only say UP IRELAND!!!! It took a long time but I have never been prouder of our country.

Report abuse

abhainn | Jul 26, 2011, 09:48 PM EDT

Daniel O'Carroll, have you begun to feel embarrassed yet at having made a fool of yourslf so publicly? The Papal Nuncio was not recalled because the Vatican was in a huff; it was to assist them to prepare the response to the Cloyne Report, which the Taoiseach and Tánaiste demanded. The Nuncio is the Vatican's man in Ireland and can contribute on-the-ground insight to the Vatican as it works to deliver its response. The recall was not punitive or reactionary, but merely for consultative purposes. O'Carroll, you have made an eejit of yourself by going off half-cocked. Cool your blood and use your mind.

Report abuse

ClaireFromCork | Jul 26, 2011, 07:48 AM EDT

Unbelievable. At least the era is finally over.

Report abuse

CER1940 | Jul 25, 2011, 05:37 PM EDT

We should all be so lucky as to have our "nuncio" recalled to the great state of the Vatican.

Report abuse

CER1940 | Jul 25, 2011, 05:23 PM EDT

The Vatican continues to treat the rest of the world with arrogance. What more could we expect.

Report abuse

mccarthy305 | Jul 25, 2011, 01:36 PM EDT

a typically 'Vatican' response. well done to Enda.